So, let’s say you’re ready to make the big move and start living abroad. Great news! Whether you’ve been tempted by low prices, a lovely culture or even just some seriously beautiful girls, there’s plenty of reasons to pack up and head to Ukraine. But, this leaves the issue of having to make money abroad. Today, we’re talking all about jobs in Ukraine and the many options that exist for ambitious expats who want to build a life outside of the USA.
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Can You Get Jobs in Ukraine?
Generally speaking, it’s not worth it to get a job in Ukraine.
The fact of the matter is that the country is extremely poor and has an abysmal job market. Let’s not forget that the average person in Ukraine makes roughly $400 per month.
While most Ukrainian companies may welcome a foreigner with open arms, they’ll be confused as to why you would choose to work for such a low salary.
Chances are, you don’t want to be in this category. If you’re living in Ukraine and from the West, you want to take advantage of an extremely favorable exchange rate where the smallest internet-based income will put you in the top 20% of earners in the country.
What About Language Schools?
The classic “job” that most expats will get is teaching English.
It seems like the perfect gig…at first.
If you’re from the West, you have native proficiency in the language. It requires no additional skills to be learned and can serve as a way of networking in a new country. What’s not to love?
This can work in places like Russia, but the salary will often be abysmal in Ukraine. In fact, teaching English in Russia can actually be a pretty good deal if you get the required certifications.
It’s not uncommon for people to make as little as $2 an hour in entry-level teaching positions.
Why waste your time doing this?
If this is something you’re planning on doing, I suggest you reconsider. The fact is, there are far better alternatives out there than slaving away at a dead-end English teaching job in a developing country.
These days, however, it seems that the best opportunities are often online.
Working Online: The Best Way To Make Money Abroad
The internet has officially broken down all borders when it comes to doing business internationally. Currently, 5.2% of all workers are effectively working remotely in the United States. If you’re working a corporate job, going into the office is really no longer necessary.
As such, one option is to secure a job that allows you to work from home prior to heading abroad.
Working Remote For A Company
Considering that millions of Americans are now working from home, what’s to stop you from working from Ukraine instead of working from wherever your company believes you are? It might be against company policy, or it might not.
You make that determination. I’ve met plenty of people doing just this.
If you can handle the time difference, it’s a perfectly viable option to simply log into work from your computer while living abroad. You’ll still be paid in the same fashion, and you generally have access to your US based bank accounts anywhere you are in the world today.
Granted, you’ll have to be in a position with a company that lets you do this in the first place.
Alternatively, you could search for a Western-based company that has offices in Ukraine.
Finding A Western Company in Ukraine
Plenty of US-based companies have begun setting up shop in Ukraine. This is largely to take advantage of cheap labor that exists there. Think about it: if a big company can employ Ukrainians for $5 an hour instead of paying Americans $15 for the same work, there’s a big win to be had profit-wise.
This is known as outsourcing, and it’s absolutely huge right now. Now, as I said before, you don’t want to be in the category of people working for $5 an hour. But foreign offices still need support from their American counterparts to function effectively from time to time.
Whether it’s just having a Western perspective on business decisions, or even a low-level secretarial job that requires perfect English, there are definitely opportunities here.
So, what’s stopping you from applying at one of these companies, with the explicit stipulation that you would like to work in Ukraine instead of locally in the United States? Granted, you will need a pretty strong resume to get your foot in the door. And, having Russian or Ukrainian language skills would certainly set you apart as well.
Even still, I’d imagine that most American workers are reluctant to take a foreign job assignment in a place like Ukraine. As someone who is applying with this goal in mind, you could very well stand out from the pack.
The following companies have established offices in Kyiv and Lviv.
But, let’s be honest. Some of us just don’t want to work corporate jobs. That’s why many of us wanted to move abroad in the first place. If this sounds like you, I implore you to consider becoming a freelancer when learning how to make money abroad.
Freelancing: The Bread and Butter of Learning How To Make Money Abroad
The majority of expats that you meet while traveling are freelancers. While this term might be intimidating, it simply means that they are an independent contractor who sells their services to businesses instead of working as an employee.
Let’s say you are a skilled graphic designer. You can likely take a corporate job and be their in-house guy to handle all design matters, or you can operate your own business which they consult with on a case-to-case basis.
Doing the second option would make you a freelancer. And, if you’ve haven’t already figured out, you can freelance from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection.
Think about your unique skillset. What are you good at? What can you become good at? The internet is a big, big place, and I personally believe that anybody can find a way to make a living with it.
While selling sunglasses at the mall isn’t exactly something you can start a freelancing business with, you can definitely work to pick up some marketable skills that will enable you to live anywhere you want.
In fact, let’s talk about some other freelancer careers that are popular among expats.
Copywriting
Copywriting is an interesting field. It generally means that you are writing technical, written works that can be used in advertising, websites, branding, or even academics.
Believe it or not, some freelance copywriters can make well over $100 per small blog post.
The dream scenario in a job like this is to pick up so many clients that you can begin hiring others to do the work.
This way, you can cash in on cheap labor in countries such as Ukraine, but only if their English levels are near perfect. This business model allows you to essentially scale to infinity, with some of the top performers making millions each year handling copywriting for businesses.
This is one that’s very easy to get started on. Even if you don’t aspire to run a large-scale agency, you can begin finding writing jobs online TODAY.
Sites such as Upwork are fantastic for this, and while you may have to do a few low paid, tedious jobs to get your foot in the door and build up your reputation, your efforts can pay off hugely in the future.
If you’re serious about copywriting, I suggest checking out The Copywriters Handbook.
But, what if you’re not such a great writer? Well, one of the best (and most profitable) ways of improving your writing is by starting a blog.
Blogging
Blogging has forever been a long-time favorite for location independent entrepreneurs.
Not only does blogging allow you to sharpen your writing skills, but if you begin to build up an audience of readers, you can start monetizing it using sponsored posts, selling ad-space, and various other methods.
Some blogs exist only to make money. Others are for more artistic purposes. While Expat Ukraine makes a small amount of revenue each month, this is predominately a blog that’s designed to help others as a passion project.
The first thing you must do to get started is to choose what you are going to blog about! For someone who is actively traveling around, starting a blog about the places you visit can be a fantastic way to break in. While it’s a crowded market, it’s an evergreen one as well.
Once you’ve settled on a niche, you have to purchase hosting and a domain name. For these purposes, I suggest using Bluehost and GoDaddy. A year of hosting and a domain can host as little as $50, a fantastic investment if you consider some people make a full time living from blogging.
What’s more, is that once you have one blog up and running, you can very easily start another and continue building your online business repertoire.
Pro-tip: If you’re interested in productivity hacks, I highly suggest you check out Modafinil.
Teaching English Online: A Decent Enough Way To Make Money Abroad
Now, I know that we dismissed being an English teacher earlier on in this post. But, if you look at the options that exist for teaching English online, the deal becomes far sweeter.
Blogging and copywriting can take a little while to build up both a reputation and a client base, and some of us need to start getting paid ASAP. For someone in this situation, it makes far more sense to get a job teaching English online.
Some companies, such as VIPKid, allow you to connect with Chinese students where you can make as much as $18-$21 per hour teaching basic phrases, grammar, and sentence structure.
If you do the math, this can be a pretty nice side hustle, and a great way to get started making money online.
Assuming you’re making $20 an hour and working 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, you’re looking at $500 of weekly profit. For a country like Ukraine, that’s pretty huge. You’ll have absolutely no problem having a fantastic little lifestyle off of a salary like that.
While there are a few companies that are great for this, VIPKid constantly comes in as being the best service out there. It takes a few days to submit your documents and get approved, so I suggest starting ASAP if this is something you’re interested in.
Conclusion: Jobs in Ukraine Are Few & Far Between…
The title says it all. Moving abroad to get a job in Ukraine would classify as a downgrade for most people living in the West.
On the other hand, working online and earning a Western salary while living in Ukraine allows you to live like a king.
We choose to live abroad and have an international lifestyle because we want to live the best life we can. The best asset you have in a situation like this is a location independent income stream that lets you make money abroad. While it may take some thinking, and a fair amount of work to create, I can tell you that it is absolutely a worthwhile investment.
Good luck, and keep hustling!
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